Tuscaloosa may change alcohol license requirement

Thursday

Mar 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | A shift in city policy would allow more business owners to satisfy alcohol training requirements, pending a final vote by the City Council. The proposed change, approved Tuesday by the council's Public Safety Committee, would relax the requirement that any alcohol license applicant within the city limits must complete certification through the state's Responsible Vendor Program.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | A shift in city policy would allow more business owners to satisfy alcohol training requirements, pending a final vote by the City Council.The proposed change, approved Tuesday by the council's Public Safety Committee, would relax the requirement that any alcohol license applicant within the city limits must complete certification through the state's Responsible Vendor Program.The full City Council is expected to vote on the proposed change next week.Formed in 1990 by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, the Responsible Vendor Program offers training on the Alabama laws that govern the sale or service of alcohol. The program also provides techniques for determining if the customer is of legal age, spells out the civil and criminal penalties associated with violating state laws and offers suggestions for reducing the risk associated with the sale of alcohol, according to the ABC Board website.Completing the program brings certain rewards for the business, such as protection of the business owner's license should a trained employee sell or serve to an underage patron without the owner's knowledge.However, the program is not extended to those who have been found guilty of multiple alcohol violations, said Associate City Attorney Jimbo Woodson.“Not all alcohol vendees are eligible for the Responsible Vendor Program,” Woodson said. “Certain violations render them ineligible.”To allow more alcohol vendors access to City Hall-sanctioned training, the city's University of Alabama Strip Safety Task Force suggested that the rules be changed to allow for other programs to suffice.Woodson brought the suggestion to the Public Safety Committee, which recommended an ordinance that would allow the Responsible Vendor Program or some other program as approved by the city's Revenue Department to fulfill the training requirement.New alcohol license applicants will have 60 days to complete the training requirement, while existing license holders must submit proof of such training each year to the Revenue Department, according to the new ordinance.Failure to do so may not result in the revocation or denial of a license application, but it can be used as evidence in a civil or criminal trial, Woodson said.“This sets a standard of care for training,” Woodson said. “If someone elects not to provide the training and they end up in a lawsuit, then that's a problem for them because we've set that as a standard of care and it could be admissible in a trial.“We believe their attorneys and their insurance companies and their owners looking at this will see they need to participate in this for their best interest.”Steve McInnis, a member of the University of Alabama Strip Safety Task Force and a retired ABC Board enforcement officer, said the state's Responsible Vendor Program is ideal, but he encourages more training for those in the alcohol dispensing business.“I personally feel everyone needs to be trained,” McInnis said. “There's so much liability and risk inherent in selling alcohol.”His belief extends into his new profession. As the owner of the newly formed Top Shelf Alabama LLC, he formed the company to aid retailers in the sale of alcoholic beverages. This includes applying for an ABC license as well as maintaining the Responsible Vendor Program training.McInnis said he enforced ABC laws across West Alabama during his career and often saw the same violations occur.The most common one, he said, was employees improperly checking — or not checking at all — the identification cards provided by potential buyers.“People who sell alcohol should be trained so they understand the risk involved,” McInnis said, “whether it be a convenience store, restaurant, bar on the Strip or whatever.”